


Should've Known Better

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: Holly's Round Seven H/C Bingo Card [34]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Burns, Gen, Permanent Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-30 20:57:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8548870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: "What's the verdict, doc?" Sulu asks, a nervous grin on the undamaged half of his mouth. "Am I gonna live?"


  Leonard forces a smile. "Live, yes. But I'm not promising you a pretty face."

After Sulu goes down planetside, Leonard swears to do whatever it takes to get him back on his feet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'ed. Written for H/C Bingo Round 7.

By the time Leonard gets planetside, the explosion has already been handled and more than left its mark. Much of Sulu's left side is in mottled disarray, and it's only years of experience that keeps Leonard from succumbing to nausea at the sight. Kneeling at Sulu's side, Leonard starts with the critical part--checking for damage to vital organs.

"What's the verdict, doc?" Sulu asks, a nervous grin on the undamaged half of his mouth. "Am I gonna live?"

Leonard forces a smile. "Live, yes. But I'm not promising you a pretty face."

Sulu gives a forced laugh that turns almost instantly to a pained cough that has Spock holding him down at the shoulders at Leonard's indication. Leonard redirects his tricorder from Sulu's head, where he was checking for brain damage, to his lungs, aware of the potential for a pneumothorax if the acid managed to penetrate the skin and muscle protecting the chest cavity. There's no indication of danger yet, but Leonard isn't counting it out.

He returns to his examination of potential head trauma or brain damage, and slowly works his way down Sulu's body, examining any potential dangers to moving him. Coming up clean, he nods to the small contingent of medical staff that he'd brought down with him. "We're good to move him. Be careful, but he's stable as far as I can tell."

Leonard leads the way back to the medical shuttle they're using to transport Sulu back to the Enterprise, his mouth set in a grim line. This isn't going to be easy--the burns alone are likely to send Sulu into shock if they don't get him back to Medbay quickly enough, and that won't be a cakewalk to treat--but it's doable, and at the end of the day, that's the most important part.

Hours of surgery later, Leonard brings Sulu back around to consciousness carefully. They've still got him covered with a blanket to prevent any potential hypothermia complications while the dermal regenerator does its job. "Hey kiddo," he says softly while Sulu blinks disorientedly up at him. "How you feelin'?"

"Achy," Sulu answers honestly, "but better than before you knocked me out."

Leonard nods. "Good. That's good."

"Still got me on the good stuff?"

"Still got you on the good stuff," Leonard agrees with a small, tired smile. "Probably gonna keep you on the good stuff for a while to be honest. You're off duty for three days at least, barring catastrophe."

"The captain?"

There's worry in Sulu's tone that sets Leonard's teeth on edge. "Sulu. You know he just wants what's best for you."

"Yeah, but. The explosion--"

"Was not your fault." Sulu's mouth goes tight at the corner that isn't covered in blossoming burn scars, and his eyes dart away from Leonard. Leonard sighs. "It wasn't, Sulu, and there's no way anyone could have known that would happen. Least of all you, or you wouldn't have been standing that close."

"I should've known," Sulu says quietly. "I'm the _pilot_."

"And it wasn't your ship. How could you have known it was rigged to explode?"

Sulu doesn't say anything.

Leonard sighs, reaching out and adjusting the blanket that's keeping Sulu insulated. It's a strange habit, what with how the biobed is doing most of the temperature regulation, but he supposes it comes from years of being tended to by his father, who had begun practicing shortly before biobeds had become commonplace. "Sulu. The captain's just glad you're alive."

Sulu's eyes cut over to him, noticing his careful choice of words. "What aren't you telling me, doc?"

Leonard winces, knowing he's been caught. "There was extensive burn damage to your left side due to the heat from the explosion," he says carefully. "Extensive enough that it caused some scarring in your left hand."

" _In_ my hand?"

"Skin tissue," Leonard confirms, "muscle tissue… and some low-grade degeneration of the tendons."

Sulu's face hardens. "You're avoiding the point. Just give it to me straight."

"You're going to need serious rehab before you're going to be able to pilot the Enterprise again."

Sulu's eyes go wide, shock and distress on his features. But then he schools them, nodding slowly. "But I will be able to fly her again, right?"

Leonard tilts his head. "I never make promises, Sulu," he cautions, and Sulu's face falls, "but I think you have better than even odds of recovering full motion in your hand and returning to your pilot's seat within three months. So long," he says as Sulu's face starts to brighten again, "as you stick to your rehab regimen."

Sulu laughs. "If it gets me back in that pilot's seat, I swear I'll be your most dedicated patient."

Leonard nods. "Then you're likely to do just fine."

Sulu relaxes, tension pouring out of his body. "Good," he says quietly. "That's good."

Leonard's face softens. "I'm gonna let you rest up, now. Gotta take care of yourself if you're gonna make a full recovery."

Sulu nods, sinking back into the biobed. "Will do, doc. Gotta… live up to my promises."

Leonard tugs the privacy curtain around Sulu's bed, knowing, somehow, that this time things are actually going to work out just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> [Come hang with me on tumblr!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


End file.
